In Japan, motor vehicles had rear-view mirrors generally on their fenders (Such a rear-view mirror mounted on a fender will hereinafter be referred to as a "fender mirror".). At present, many people prefer to have rear-view mirrors mounted on doors (Such a rear-view mirror mounted on a door will hereinafter be referred to as a "door mirror".) because the door mirrors look better, offer better views and are easier to adjust the mirror angle. In most of such door mirrors, a mirror body is attached to a base so that the mirror body can be folded with respect to the base. When the mirror body contacts a human body or a thing, the mirror body is folded backward or forward to weaken the shock and ensure safety. However, because the door mirror protrudes sideways from the car body more than the fender mirror, the door mirror offers problems when a vehicle equipped therewith is parked in a narrow space or shipped for transportation. Three-dimensional car parks constructed in large cities to make the most of limited spaces are designed for motor vehicles with fender mirrors and the width of each parking stall thereof is very small. Therefore, when a motor vehicle with door mirrors enters one of these car parks, a mirror body may contact a side wall, iron frame, etc. of the car park and do damage thereto as well as to the mirror body itself.
Some door mirrors already provided can be kept in a folded state so that motor vehicles equipped therewith occupy less space on board in transportation. For example, according to Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 58-33340, a mirror body is kept in a folded state by inserting a long strip of plate between the mirror body folded backward and a base thereof. In this utility model, however, it is troublesome to insert the plate from outside to keep the mirror body in a folded state, and to remove the plate to return the mirror body to the normal position. Furthermore, the utility model has the disadvantage that the plate is liable to be lost and must be kept very carefully because it is separate from the rear-view mirror.
German Pat. No. 2219787 discloses a rear-view mirror in which a mirror body is mounted through a base having pivots at the front and rear thereof so that the mirror body can be folded forward and backward. In this rear-view mirror, however, the mirror body may be folded or vibrated or the pivots may get out of the base owing to wind pressure, slight shocks, etc. when the motor vehicle is running. To prevent that, it is necessary to attach strong tension spings between the mirror body and the base. This means that the construction of the mirror becomes complicated and it is not easy to keep the mirror body in a folded state at the time of the parking or transportation of the vehicle. Furthermore, it is necessary to strengthen the mirror body, for example, by thickening the plates thereof or disposing reinforcing members within the mirror body. Therefore, it takes more time and money to produce the mirror.
It is a general object of the invention to provide a door mirror which has obviated all the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.
It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a door mirror which has means for weakening shocks when a mirror body contacts a human body, etc. during the operation of the vehicle, said mirror body being easily kept in a folded state when the vehicle is parked in a narrow space or transported.